One step behind
by itsallinthename
Summary: When Adam starts coming in early, Mac gets worried. What keeps the young lab tech awake at night, and what does it have to do with the new case? Sorry this is my first ever fanfic so i apologise in advance.
1. Chapter 1

**One step behind**

**Chapter 1**

He was sitting nervously on the edge of the bed, his hands clamped tightly over his ears. Bending his head down low he tired desperately to block the sound of the ringing phone. It was 4.25am on the dot and the phone was ringing, it wasn't the first time and he knew it wouldn't be the last.

The answer phone kicked in.

Even with his hands over his ears he could still hear him on the line. He heard him whispering, mocking him, laughing at him, taunting him. Click. the phone had been put down, the answering machine beeped. Raising his head he left the edge of his bed and walked out and replayed the message,

"Adam, sweetheart, don't pretend you're not there. I love you. Just pick up the phone, be a good boy, come on there is no point ignoring me I know you, you want to answer the phone… Fine I'll call again tomorrow too see how you are doing."

Silence.

Sliding down to the ground, Adam placed his head in hid hands. He knew he should have told someone months ago but to start with he thought it was okay, he thought it was just a joke. Now… now he knew he couldn't say anything, the repercussions would be unbearable. Adam sighed as a tear trickled down his cheek and dropped into his shirt collar. 4.30 he had to be at work in an hour, there was no way Ross could get any sleep now. Entering the kitchen he poured a cup of coffee and turned on the television. At this time in the morning Adam didn't expect there to be anything on, but he welcomed the noise. Barely noticing the coffee his mind wondered.

"_Ross." he answered gruffly. It was early and he hadn't got in till late. He didn't even care if it was his boss he wanted his sleep. There was no reply from the other side. "Hello. Ross here." There was heavy breathing on the other end. Angrily Adam threw the phone down, it was too early for prank calls._

Sighing and shaking his head Adam looked at his watch. He rose and grabbed his keys, it was time to get to work.

"ADAM!" the shock nearly made Adam fall of his chair.

"What are you trying to do Mac, give me a heart attack?" He was rubbing his chest about where his heart would be, trying to calm it down.

"Sorry, but you weren't listening to me and I need the answers to the wheel treads I gave you early." After a few clicks Adam had brought u what he needed. Mac looked at it, his hunch was right. "Thanks Adam." Adam turned to him and smiled, he looked terrible. "Are you alright Adam?" Mac could see the dark circles under his eyes and his hands had started to shake.

"N-no," Adam stated to shake his head. "I'm fine d-don't worry 'bout me!" he laughed nervously and returned to look at the screen. Mac wasn't convinced but he didn't have time to find out now, the kid needed time off, he had been working nearly 24/7 only going home when he was told. Mac squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and nodded before leaving.

Mac watched as Flack took the guy from the interrogation room. Riley Jackson, he had eluded capture twice, but now there was no escape. It had been a long day and Mac knew he should get home and sleep, but right now he would have to fill in the forms, then the case would be finished for good.

Back at the office it was nearly completely deserted, some of the night shift were arriving and going for debriefing and only the cleaners were present. Reaching for the forms Mac sat at his desk and finished up, the quicker he started the quicker he would be able to get home and get some well earned rest. Halfway through his writing he heard the clicking of a keyboard, it was odd, no one should be using the lab now. Confused he walked out of his office and into the general direction of the sound.

Adam was sitting at the computer it was 3.14am but he would rather be here than home. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking again he was remembering.

_It had been another long day and he had barely managed to get out of the office without being shouted at for completely messing up, as usual. Opening the door to the apartment he noticed an envelope lying face down on the floor. Odd, the mail had already come. On the front was only his name, it had been hand delivered. Carefully he had opened it and read it:_

_Dear Adam,_

_I'm sorry I didn't talk to you last night but I was so nervous. Hearing your voice was just so relaxing I didn't want to ruin the moment._

"Hey, Adam, hello?" Adam jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "What are you still doing here everyone else went home hours ago." Mac looked concerned and confused.

"Uh…yeah sorry urmm was, well was just trying… it was just I wanted to, you see all that happened was…" Mac tried to decipher the cryptic message hidden in Adam's rambling and gave up.

"Whoa, Adam slow down. What are you talking about, why do you want to stay here?" Adam returned his gaze to the ground, he didn't want to tell him, he didn't need to know.

"Sorry I was just finishing up I'm going home now anyway." Mac watched as the young man picked up his bag and headed to the elevator, There was something wrong, but what, he didn't know. Back in his office he completed the paperwork and filed it ready for the morning.

Adam fumbled with his keys, he knew what to expect but that didn't make it any easier. Opening the door he saw the envelope on the floor, he didn't want to read it but curiosity took the better of him.

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**Chapter 2**

Mac's mind was still on the last case it had taken so long and had taken it out of everyone. They all needed some time off, but he knew that wouldn't happen already two new cases had arrived on his desk in the morning. He waited for the rest of the team to arrive, it was only 6am he didn't expect them for another hour. Sleep was what he needed, but no matter how hard he tried he could never drift off. Leaning back on his chair Mac stared out into the lab, from here he could see pretty much all of the lab, a perfect place to keep an eye on everyone. He sat back up straight. Something had caught his eye, in the lab over the far side, someone was there, the night shift weren't in at the moment and anyway why would they use _his _lab.

Curiosity took over and Mac wondered over to the person who was sitting hunched over the desk. 'It can't be' Mac thought, 'I sent him home hours ago'. By now it was obvious something was up, but was unsure if he would find out what it was.

"Adam, what are you doing here, your shift doesn't start for another hour?" It wasn't as much a question as a statement.

"Well neither does yours." Adam replied with more confidence than he had expected against his boss, but he did have a point.

"I'm just sorting out the cases, but you shouldn't be here." Mac was firm. He waned to know why Adam was here, but also wanted to make sure he knew he was in charge. "You know how it is when you can't sleep… you may as well do something productive." Adam failed at an attempt to smile, the truth was he was too tired to smile but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Mac looked at him with obvious annoyance, why wasn't he telling him what was up.

"Adam you look exhausted, I should really make you take the day off…" He wanted to see how Adam would respond.

"NO!" Adam didn't mean to shout and so calmed himself down. "I mean no, its alright just neighbours… they were having a late party and they will probably be at it all day, it would actually be quieter if I stayed at work." Adam hated lying, he wasn't very good at it, but it was easier than trying to explain the truth. Mac wasn't convinced but decided to let the matter drop. Nodding his head he left Adam who had returned to his former position over the table. He would keep an eye on him, when he could spare one.

"Are these the new cases then?" Stella had walked in without Mac realising, he was in a world of his own.

"Hmm?" he looked at what was in her hand, "Oh yeah, urmm, yeah those are the new cases." Stella eyed him with confused curiosity. "There's one robbery and one suicide. Night shift gave them to us pretty straight forward, they've already collected the evidence." Even though he spoke Mac's mind was elsewhere.

"Mac?" The detective looked up to see Stella watching him with worry etched on her face. "Are you okay? Is there something on your mind?" He sighed, Adam was on his mind, the young man was not, well not Adam.

"I don't know you spoken to Adam recently?" Stella would have found the statement odd if Mac had asked her this a few months ago, but now, she knew what he was trying to get at.

"I know I've seen it as well, there is something, not quite right with him, he's not being 'Adamy'!" They both understood the statement, Adam was usually quite energetic, if not eccentric at times, there was a natural quirk in the way he worked and spoke, now he wasn't. Now he seemed so withdrawn, so quiet, just getting on with his job in an almost robotic way. "I'll keep an eye out for him Mac." She knew this wouldn't put his mind at rest, but maybe it would help. Mac just nodded, then his phone rang, sighing he answered,

"Taylor… okay on my way." he closed his phone and turned back to Stella. "There's a dead body found off the junction on Chamber's street and Centre street" Stella grabbed her coat and called for Danny to follow her and Mac to the crime scene.

Flack brought over a cup of coffee for Mac, "Single gun shot wound to the chest, he bled out." It seemed to be a very simple case. "But," Don continued, "It was what we found on him which raised a few eyebrows." Here Flack passed a bag containing an envelope, addressed to the crime lab. Mac placed on a pair of gloves and opened the bag to get at the letter. It had been hand written and there was no indication of who it may be from. He placed back in the bag without opening it.

"I'll take it back to the lab, see if there are any prints." he didn't seem too convinced he would get anything but it was worth a try, maybe the killer had had a bad day.

Danny had arrived back at the office with the evidence they had collected at the scene, the letter was on top of the box. Crash, the box was dumped on the lab table, causing Adam to flinch at the sound. "Sorry, I didn't see you there." Danny really hadn't meant to frighten him, but he really didn't know he had been there. "You seem awfully quiet, are you okay?" Adam just looked up in a daze at Danny.

"Yeah I'm fine I think I doze off for a second or two, sorry." Danny eyed him with suspicion but carried on.

"There's a new case I was wondering if you could help me sort out of some of this evidence," he handed him the letter, "Can you see if there are any fingerprints on that." Adam took the envelope and suddenly started to shake.

"Has anyone read the letter yet?" he asked, almost casually. Danny looked at him for a second then shook his head.

"No we didn't even think, I suppose it probably is important if we read it." Here he took back the letter and carefully opened the envelope. Adam watched with nervous eyes as Danny unfolded the piece paper inside and listend as he read it aloud,

"_Darling,_

_I write this to you in the hope you will understand how serious I am. I love you so much and as you can see I would kill for you, don't block me out of your life. Give me a chance."_

Danny placed the letter down, obviously disturbed by it. It was odd it would be addressed to the lab, who was it for, who was it from? He hadn't heard anything from Adam so looked up to see what he was doing, he was gone. "Adam, Adam?" He heard muttering coming from the corner of the room and swivelled round to see Adam leaning against the wall, mumbling to himself.

"I should have… no couldn't do that… but what if…. How would you know… he needs… no can't do that… what to do, what to… is it really… no can't but the hand-…" Danny shook the man who was now almost cowering.

"Adam, ADAM! Here me buddy, what's going on." he bent down to look into the eyes of the quivering man. Adam just shook his head,

"Sorry Danny, I just, well I'm sorry it doesn't matter." Brushing past Danny the young lab tech went to pick up some of the evidence and started to lie it out on the table. Danny still stood by the corner worried and slightly confused by what had just happened. He needed to find Mac.

"Hey Stella." Danny saw her just about to walk onto the elevator. "Have you seen Mac?" She watched him and saw the worry on his face.

"Yeah… he just went down to see Sid. What's wrong?" The young man sighed,

"I don't know… and that really scares me." The conversation was over and he left her to get onto the elevator. He took the stairs, it would give him time to work out how he would explain it to Mac without sounding like he was overreacting. On his way in Danny saw Mac about to enter the elevator, "Mac!" he shouted as he ran over to join his boss. "I need to have a word with you." The older of the two men looked at the younger querying what he wanted to talk about. They both entered the elevator as the doors shut.

"Shoot." Mac replied.

"I don't want to sound…" it was difficult to find the right words. "…overprotective, but I just came from Adam's lab and well, he nearly freaked out when I read the letter." Mac nodded and asked about the letter. It was odd it was addressed to the crime lab, they all knew that.

"I know what you are getting at, I tried to talk to him early but failed. He doesn't seem himself, I was talking to Stella about it, there is definitely something wrong. I'll swing by him again now. Thanks for the info though." The doors opened they both got off and went in separate directions.

It couldn't be him, it just couldn't. Adam knew in his own heart it was, but may if he kept telling himself it wasn't, maybe… he knew it was useless. "Adam?" Mac had crept in behind him and had tried not to scare him too much. "Are you alright you look shattered are you sure you don't want to go home?" Adam looked up, his eyes had started to look red and puffy. "You've been crying?" Although it wasn't really a question. "Look I'm always here to talk you know that right?" there was concern all over Mac's face, he knew there was something important going on with Adam, and if it somehow involved the case, he needed to know. Adam just shook his head.

"Sorry Mac, no I'm fine its just…" his voice trailed off as he thought back to the letter last night.

_Dear my baby,_

_You need to stop ignoring me, I'm here for you. I love you and want to be there for you. I would do anything for you and I mean anything. I'll call you later, please pick up._

"Adam?" The lab tech had been staring of into the distance. Mac gently shook his shoulder and Adam suddenly came back to life.

"Oh sorry I was just thinking." Again he started to drift when his cell rang. "Ross…" Crash. The phone had hit the ground Adam stood rooted to the spot his hand still held near his ear. The phone was still on,

"_Hello… Adam sweetie are you there? I see you are at the lab I was wondering if you would want me to come by… how's the case going? Do you understand it now?"_

Mac didn't like what he heard or saw, he grabbed the phone to talk to the man on the other end, "Hello? Who's there?" the phone went dead. Looking at the phone Mac brought up the recent call log, there were over fifty missed calls, all from the same number. "Adam who is this? Adam!" The older guy looked at the young one who was still frozen to the spot, there was fear in his eyes. "Adam, what's wrong?" He tried to shake the kid out of his daze an it worked.

"It's just ha, oh sorry no… I was just gonna…. Well you see it was… and then with all this, and then I didn't want to say, but then who would…" Somewhere in there was an explanation but Mac didn't have time to sort through the somewhat slurred speech.

"Adam, follow me." Leading the man into his office he sat him down on the couch and the bent down in front of him. There was so much panic is the tech's eyes, he looked worn out. Mac had always seen him like a son and to see him like this was heart breaking. "Please, from the beginning tell me what happened." He spoke slowly and kept his voice low as to not scare the boy. Adam took a deep breath, he still didn't really want to tell him but he knew he had no other choice.

"It started about six months ago, it was just a phone call, I thought it was just a prank. Then there were the letters, just little things at first, but soon it started to get worse, telling me about how much he…_loved_ me. Sometimes when he rang he would speak to me about how much he wanted me and…" his voice trailed off he didn't really think Mac needed to know the details. "Anyway he started mentioning things that he couldn't know, things from my apartment, things from the lab, he would even start talking about my past." Now he was shaking uncontrollably as he remembered the man who was always one step behind. Every morning 4.25am he calls… Then there is this case, I saw the letter, the handwriting was the same, I knew it was him, I knew it." Mac had listened calmly, silently, taking in everything before he spoke,

"Adam, why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew the moment I saw the letter, I was going to tell you, but I thought maybe it wasn't him." his boss shook his head.

"I meant before that, why didn't you tell me six months ago?" His surrogate son just shrugged.

"It didn't seem that important and everyone was busy with cases, it was just easier to hide it all." Suddenly it became clear to Mac how hard it must have been, he remembered when he'd had the phone calls, but he was lucky to have Stella, this boy… Standing up, Lac looked at the boy who was usually so energetic, drained of all energy at all. Placing his hands on the boys shoulders he directed him to lie on the couch.

"Get some sleep, you can stay here for now." Adam merely nodded, too tired to object.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey I just got this back from one of the guys in DNA, there was no DNA on the letter and no fingerprints either." Stella caught up with Mac who had just left his office. "Also have you seen Adam I wanted to ask him to look something up for me, but he wasn't in his lab…" She noticed how quietly Mac shut the door of the office, the blinds had been pulled down so no one could see in. "Mac… is something wrong?" There was a clear cut look of unease on her boss's face, a look she had not seen in a long time. "Mac, is Adam okay?"

"Yeah… I left him sleeping he looked exhausted." He was about to turn when he felt something grab hold of his arm."Mac how long have we known each other?" Mac thought, they had known each other so long he could barely remember when they first met. "I've seen that look before, what is wrong with Adam?"

"I'm not really sure, but I think it has something to do with this case." He didn't want to explain it all, Adam had told him in confidence, but if the case was somehow involved… "He mentioned getting some letters. I want you and Lindsay to go to his apartment and see if you can find the letters, they might help." Mac didn't want to invade his privacy, but he knew he had no other choice. Stella nodded, still unsure of what was going on, maybe the letters would shed some light on the situation.

At Adam's apartment the landlord had let them in, after much arguing on both sides. It hadn't been what either woman had expected, the place was just too neat, everything had its own place so as not to clutter up the living space. However mixed in with the sophisticated rooms were posters of marvel comics and his favourite band, the only thing that was remotely Adam. "Wow." was all Lindsay could say.

"I know, I knew Adam had a thing for clean but, its barely looks like he lives in it!" Stella was obviously shocked by the apartment. "Mac said there were some letters, if he kept them where would he put them?" They started to search the living room, making sure not to move anything that they couldn't put back exactly how they found it, Adam would know. There did not seem to be much in the way of photos, or indeed anything from his past, but they didn't really notice that. To them they were more worried about Adam, and what he had to do with the murder. The living room was empty and so they tried the kitchen. After looking in three drawers the fourth showed a neatly laid pile of opened envelopes, each written in the same handwriting, all addressed to Adam. "Hey Stella, I think I've found them." Monroe lifted up the very thick pile and started flicking through them. "There are loads of them, have to read them. For now they just bagged them and left the apartment how they had found it.

_Dear my baby,_

_I came in last night, I wanted to see you sleep, how peaceful you looked. You didn't notice me touch your soft face and kiss your forehead, but it was just beautiful for me._

_The letter was placed back into the envelope and put with the rest, Adam wasn't really sure why he kept them, but for some reason he felt he needed to keep them. The thought that someone could invade his home like that, undetected sickened him. He was tired but didn't really want to go to bed just in case he came back._

"Adam… Adam." Mac gently shook the boy who was still lying asleep on the couch, he didn't really want to wake him, but he needed to know about the letters. "Adam…" A groggy Adam opened his eyes, he still had massive bags under his eyes, but some sleep was better than none.

"Yeah I'm up… I'm up." Rubbing his eyes he tried to sit up on the chair, Mac was crouched down in front of him, guiding Adam up. "Sorry…" Adam was trying to remember how he ended up asleep on his boss's couch, then realised Mac had told him to sleep. "Oh yeah of course…" Mac watched as Adam continued the conversation with himself for a minute before finally trying to talk to him again.

"Adam…these letters," here he showed a bag containing all the letters from the apartment, "Who are they from? Do you know?" Adam just shook his head.

"No sorry Mac, they just came through the door, they would be there each time I go home." He hoped Mac hadn't read them, some things were best left alone. He looked down at the floor as he thought about what was written inside some of them.

"Adam, I need you to tell me everything you know, i can't help you unless I know." He hadn't read the letters and was hoping he wouldn't have to, but with the ways things were going he felt he had no other choice.

"Yeah Mac, I know, but I don't know anything else, he would just send the letters." Now he was eyeing the letters worried about what was inside. Mac sighed.

"Alright, get some more rest." Dam shook his head,

"No, its okay, I'm awake now. I'll get back to work." Mac gave him a disapproving look.

"I would much rather you didn't…"Adam was about to object again. "You can't work this case, you are too close, but if you want you can go back to your lab." Getting up Adam walked in a somewhat straight line to the door. Mac watched him leave, still worried about what he hadn't been told. Looking down he saw the bag and weighed up his options, sighing he sat down on his desk, opened the bag and poured the envelopes onto the desk.

_Dear sweetheart,_

_I'm sorry if I hurt you last night, I didn't realise you were awake, I got scared and… well I hope you will forgive me, I hope I didn't break anything._

_He was still tired but he had not wanted to stay in Mac's office, he felt awkward, with all those letters. The letters would bring up everything he had spent six months keeping inside, even though he knew Mac knew about it now, Adam still felt like he had to hide something, six months of secrets would probably do that to him but still it was his life they were going to roam about in, it was just hard to sit back and do nothing._

"_Hey Mac." Mac looked up from the letter he was reading and saw Danny walk into the room. "I went to see Adam but he said he was off the case, why?" Danny was angry and felt guilty, did it have something to do with what he had told him. "If it has something to do with…. Look you can't just take him off cause of something I said!" _

"_Danny it has nothing to do with you. Adam agreed that it would be best not be involved in the case seeing as he may have a connection to the killer." There was definite confuse on the young CSI's face._

"_Wh - What connection? Does Adam know the killer?"_

" _Not quite but we believe the note found on the vic may have been meant for him." At this point Danny noticed the pile of paper on Mac's desk._

"_What is all this about." He picked up one of the notes and noticed how similar it was to the one found on the victim. "Where did you find these?" He waved the letter in front of Mac._

"_Adam's apartment." Danny dropped the letter with disgust._

"_You mean someone has been stalking Adam and I'm found it out now because…" Danny suspected Adam had known and ad kept it quiet._

"_Because I only found out a couple of hours ago myself." Danny was shocked but decided not to push the subject, it was obvious Mac was annoyed he hadn't known before, and he was. Leaving the room Danny left Mac with the letters. _

_Each time he opened another envelope Mac felt a deep pain inside, how could he have let this go on under his nose? He had known something was wrong yet he ignored it. Adam was right they always had something on, so Adam got pushed to the back of the pile. Now… Mac sighed again. For six months, six months he left him, they all had._


	3. Chapter 3

Again I own nothing. Sorry this chapter is terrible! worse than the first two!

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**Chapter 4**

It had been a long day, two new cases had come in, leaving Adam with a lot of processing to do. Time had flown by and before he knew it a new day had begun and Adam was still in the office. "Whoa, I need some sleep, or at least some coffee." Adam spoke to himself knowing no one else was about. "I need something I'm talking to myself again!" Stretching his arms he moved across to the break room and poured a cup of lukewarm coffee. Sighing, it wasn't the best but it was better than nothing.

"You know that isn't good for you. It shouldn't compensate sleep." Sipping the coffee Adam looked up to see Stella leaning on the door frame. "You really need to get some sleep."

"I know, but I need to finish up here, I don't want it lingering over my head, I wouldn't get any sleep." Stella grinned, he reminded her a lot of Mac in that respect, neither knew went to stop and take a break. "Will it still be there in the morning?" Adam looked at her with confusion. "In the morning will all the work still be there? Will it disappear?"

"Well no but - "

"Well then you can leave it for now. You need to go home and get some sleep." Gently removing the coffee from his hands she ushered him out of the room. Grabbing his coat and bag from the lab she guided him to the elevator. Once there she waited for the doors to open then pushed a slightly confused and very exhausted Adam inside. "Goodnight, see you in the morning." He was about to object as the doors closed on Stella's waving hand and grinning face. Shaking his head in bewilderment of what had just happened he slung his bag over his shoulder and waited for the doors to open again.

Back at his apartment Adam opened the door and carelessly picked up the envelope, he had come accustomed to finding one there now. Hanging his coat on the rack, he put his bag down next to the door and started to open the letter. "Your late." Adam didn't even batter an eyelid as he started to reply,

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that time slipped aw-" Okay so he knew when he left this morning that he didn't have a room mate, and he knew that no one was paying a visit, and he was pretty sure he wasn't talking to himself. Or was he, oh no, he hoped he hadn't finally lost it, they all said that working for the crime lab messes with your mind, what if he really was just losing his marbles. No, don't be silly, he was as sane as the next man, so long as the next man didn't include the man who had spoken to him when he entered the apartment, that man was definitely insane. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my apartment?" He seemed to be fairly calm and relaxed considering he had a half opened letter from his stalker in his hand and was staring at a man who had broken into his apartment.

"Oh yes I forgot, you've never seen my face before. I see you have my letter." Suddenly the young man's hand started to shake, the voice did sound familiar, he remembered hearing somewhere before, and thinking about it, yes it was him. "Well open it, I thought you might like it." Upon opening the envelope a photograph fell out of the folded piece of paper. After watching it fall to the floor Adam retrieved it had looked at both the letter and the photograph at the same time.

_Dear my one love,_

_You looked so peaceful and at ease, its been hard to watch you so tense these last few months, but there you reminded me of the first time I saw you. _

Turning to the picture in his other hand Adam could see it had been taken whilst he had slept in Mac's office. "But how did you…" Adam was trying to work out how any of this could be possible.

"It was quite easy most people don't like being threatened and so are more than happy to allow me access to the lab." There was an evil grin in the way he spoke that sent chills down Adam's spine. "Don't go tense, you know I never mean to harm you." Gently the man tried to touch Adam's shoulder but was quickly brushed off. "Don't be so cold, I'm only trying to be friendly." Sure Adam thought, friendly. It wasn't quite how he would have described breaking and entering, and stalking for that matter.

"Get out before I call the cops." Adam voice had more conviction in it that he thought it would.

"Oh we are getting tough aren't we?" The man just smirked and came up beside Adam, gently stroking the back of his head and neck whispering in his ear, "But don't forget who is tougher, oh yes let us not forget the past." Adam shivered as he remembered the last time the man had come.

"No, you have to leave sir, I will not ask you twice."

"Oh but you already have." The man was still stroking Adam's hair, but soon a hand came up and swiped it away. "Adam, don't try to get away, it just makes me angry." Adam was slowly moving away from the man backing into the living room. "Come back here." The man made another lunge to hold Adam, but was soon met with a punch to the face. Adam was in disbelief not thinking that he had actually done that. The man reached up to touch his bleeding nose. "You hit me!" It would seem the man was in disbelief as well. Soon a brawl had started with both men trying to hit the other whilst not being hit, Adam was losing and was soon on the floor in the corner trying to protect himself from the onslaught from the other man. As if realising what he had done the other man suddenly stopped and bent down. "I'm sorry, you just made me angry, I'm sorry but you shouldn't have tried to back away." Adam was falling out of consciousness due to the fact he had one too many kicks to the head. Retreating the man left him and ran out of the apartment shutting the door behind him. Adam now lay unconscious on the floor as his blood made a small pool around him.

"Hey Stella, did you see Adam leave? I thought I saw him a couple of minutes ago." Stella nodded.

"Yeah I sent him home, which is what I will be doing to you in a minute if you don't start packing your stuff away." Mac just smiled.

"I'll talk to him in the morning then."

"What did you ant to talk, to him about?"

"Just these letters it mentions someone getting hurt, I wondered if Adam might be able to shed some light on it." Stella watched him re-enter his office and grab his coat. "I'm going home now, what about you?" Stella nodded again.

"Yeah I was just making sure the rest of you were out." she answered with a smile. With that both of them made there way to the elevator to finally get some sleep.

4.25am, the phone rang.

There was no answer.

The answer phone kicked in.

"Hey Adam, sorry about earlier, but you were being unreasonable, you know I have a short temper. I hope it hasn't affected our relationship at all."

The line went dead.

Adam was still slumped up against the wall with blood soaking through his clothes.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the comments about the last chapter, I know it seemed a bit harsh but I don't think it would have worked otherwise, I'm kinda making this up as i go along, scratch that, I AM making it up as i go along! Hope this is better than the last chapter (unlikely)!

AGAIN I DON'T OWN THE CHARACTERS!

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Chapter 5

Mac was on his way home, he couldn't shake of the feeling that he was missing something, something big. The letters were like they were only part of the conversation, as if there was another side he didn't know about. More importantly, why had this man started to kill people, what was he trying to do. Questions continued to circle round his mind, trying to come up with answers. The biggest question was of course why Adam? What had Adam done? The time in the car read 4.35am, he would have to be back at work in a few hours, but for now he welcomed the rest. Reaching his home he got out his car and yawned, he most definitely wanted to get some sleep. As he placed the key in the lock a casual thought crossed his mind again, what were the letters talking bout and how come Adam… Oh no, retrieving the key from the door he hastened back to his car. How could he have been so stupid.

He had been drifting off quite nicely, comfortably relaxed in this position. He couldn't understand why his brain was so persistent in trying to keep him awake, he wanted to sleep. There was a pounding at the back of his head and slowly he reached his hand up to touch where the pain was coming from, something sticky met his hand. Alarms in his mind started to go off, what was the sticky substance. He tried to move, but suddenly he was filled with agony, he was rooted to the spot, panic spread across his whole body as he tried to find a way to move.

Meanwhile Mac was racing across town, trying to remember where Adam lived, he remembered dropping him off there once, after a very bad new year's eve party, but he couldn't remember exactly where. Why had he left him, it was a rookie mistake. Stella should have known better as well, but he couldn't blame her, she hadn't really known. To let him go without any protection, why? Mentally hitting himself, Mac finally found where he was looking for. Hardly bothering to make sure the car was parked somewhere where it wouldn't bother others he raced inside. What apartment was it, he was sure it was the second floor, yes apartment 7, the second floor. Taking the stairs by twos, Mac reached Adam's apartment. He couldn't shake off the worry that something was wrong. Why had he let him go home alone, of all the things to do. "ADAM! ADAM OPEN UP NOW!" He was hammering away at the door, not caring if the screaming awoke the neighbours. "ADAM I NEED YOU TO OPEN THE DOOR!" There was no answer.

Adam was still trying to move, still unable to get his body to obey his instructions. There was banging at the door. It was Mac, he could hear him, was his mind playing tricks, what was his boss doing here. He wanted to open the door but he couldn't move at all. "Mac…" As he tried to speak he realised hw dry his throat was and started to cough instead. Outside the door Mac heard a faint whisper and then coughing, what was wrong? Without a second thought he slammed into the door, pulling it off the hinges. It took a second to adjust to the scene in front of him. Quickly he found Adam pushed up against the wall, blood all around. "Oh God, Adam." Racing over he found most of the blood was coming from the head wound, taking of his coat he moved Adam forward and held it in place over the wound, with his free hand he phoned for an ambulance. "I'm sorry Adam. I'm so sorry." Adam was slipping out of consciousness again. "Adam I need you to stay awake. Please you need to listen to my voice and keep your eyes open, you can sleep in a minute but you need to stay awake right now. Who did this Adam, Adam stay with me." He was trying he really did want to stay awake, but it hurt too much, when he closed his eyes the pain went away.

Five minutes later an ambulance had arrived and, after stabilising him Adam was taken to the hospital, Mac following behind. On the way he debated calling one of the team, and after deciding the best person would be Stella, he rang her to tell her to meet him at the hospital.

"Mac, what's wrong?" Stella had come quickly nervous at why she was being called to the hospital so early in the morning. "Are you okay, you look fine?" She patted him down to check all his limbs were there and that there were no cuts or bruises.

"I'm fine Stella, its not me, its Adam." Removing her hands from him Stella stood in shock.

"What happened, Mac?" Mac had turned away from her towards the doors into the surgery.

"I don't know, I went to his apartment and he was lying in his own blood. We will need to get a team in there soon, but for now I need to make sure Adam is okay. I can't believe I left him Stella. He never should have gone home alone, I was so busy with everything else, I forgot a about him." Stella still stood wide eyes.

"Oh God, I left him to go home by himself, I ordered him out of the office, I didn't even think." Both were caught up in guilt, knowing that they should have done more to keep him safe. Then a doctor came from the door into the surgery.

"How is he doc." Mac voice showed tension.

"He is stable, but he does have a concussion and many broken ribs. Luckily there is only one major break in his right arm, just below the elbow, it shouldn't be too difficult to mend. He's asleep right now and I would like him to stay that way please." The last was said in an almost menacing tone ,but they understood what he meant.

"Can we just check he is okay." The doctor nodded and Stella and Mac followed him to where Adam was resting. He had a bandage around his head and was hooked up to a few different machines, mostly to measure heart and brain activity, there was a cast across his right arm. Mac couldn't stand to watch, after all it was his fault that he was in here in the first place, a stupid thing to do, to leave him in that apartment, with a killer on the loose who seems to have an interest in him. Shaking his head Mac left the room, closely followed by Stella. "I need to get to the office and call the team, we need to process his apartment, it may hep who did this to him and who our murderer is as well." Stella nodded.

"I think I will stay here, make sure he is okay, you have the rest f the team anyway." Mac agreed and left her there with Adam.

Pulling up a seat next to him, Stella watched the steady rising and falling of his chest. He looked so peaceful, so innocent. Adam had a way of making himself look so much more capable than he actually was. To look at him one would thing he was slightly mad, yeah, but still have the ability to look after himself, yet here, lying on the hospital bed, Stella sighed. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he was barely older than a kid, he was smart, no denying that, but not really that good at looking after himself, but then again, he would have been fine if it wasn't for the fact they had left him with a lunatic. Mac was right, they had been idiots to let him leave without protection, anything could have happened. Correction anything DID happen.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, thanks for sticking with this! I hope this is alright, I am just making up as I go so hope you don't find it that bad!

O DON'T OWN CSI NY CHARACTERS!

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Chapter 6

"Hi Mac, now I know I may not always be that observant, but being a CSI and all that, I think I would have noticed all this mess in Adam's apartment when I came earlier, what's going on?" Lindsay had arrived at the apartment to be greeted with the fowl smell of blood, and a floor littered with everything from the shelves. "Is Adam okay?" She really did sound concerned for the boys welfare.

"His badly battered, but the doctors say it could have been worse, his hasn't woken up yet. As for what's going on, that is what I'm hoping you can fin out." Lindsay merely nodded as she put on a pair of gloves to start processing the 'crime scene'.

!Hey Linds, I got your message what's the mat-" Danny had been panting from running to the apartment, it took a few seconds to take in what he was seeing. "Isn't this Adam's apartment." He had spotted a framed photo of Adam with a young girl, perhaps a girlfriend. "What happened?"

"I wish I knew, it was like trying to tall to a brick wall when I asked Mac!" She sighed. "C'mon let's get on with this, see if we can't find out what happened." Only just noticing the blood Danny turned back to Lindsay,

"Whoa, is that Adam's blood, is he okay?" Shrugging Lindsay just replies,

"I hope so."

There was an uncomfortable feeling in his right arm, he couldn't quite work out whether it was painful or not, maybe moving it would help. Pain shot through his body, not good to move, that feeling is definitely painful. Working his way around his body he tried to find to exactly where it hurt, arm, ribs, head, that was it, hopefully. Now came the big question, how did he end up in this much pain, and where was he now? Nervously he opened one eye, opening one because the other wouldn't, he found himself in a room he knew wasn't his own. Of course it could be his, someone may have just changed some of his things around, no his eyes, or more like eye, glanced at the heart monitor, there is no way he would have a heart monitor in his room. He didn't need to work with detectives to know that this was a hospital room. Trying to move, he remembered the pain and groaned in disgust. Noises were coming back and he could here the steady beat of he heart monitor, there were also some voices, hard to decipher, but there was something familiar about one or two of them.

"Hey Stella."

"Mac, is everything okay?" She had been watching Adam intently and hadn't realise him creep up behind her.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how he was doing, I thought they said it wasn't bad." Unease was obvious in his voice, and his face seemed concerned as well. The boy looked terrible, his one eye was swollen shut, and bruises covered most of his skin. His head was bandaged up, and his arm was in a full cast. "Has he woken at all." Stella shook her head.

"No, sorry Mac." There was definite disappointment in her voice, Mac felt the same. More than disappointment Mac felt guilt, guilt for ignoring him, guilt for leaving him, guilt for the state that he was now in. "How is the investigation going." She was trying to pry his eyes away from Adam, knowing it was hurting him.

"I won't know until I get back to the lab and talk to Lindsay and Danny. I needed to see him, I'm going to put guards on his room, I don't fancy leaving him unprotected, again." Just then a doctor arrived to check upon his patient, "How is he doing doc?" Mac asked hastily. The doctor gave pushed past him angrily.

"I will know as soon as you give me chance to see him, I thought I said I wanted him to be left to sleep." He looked menacingly at Mac before checking the clipboard on Adam, then moving towards the bed to check his heart and make sure the drip was okay. "He is doing well, considering the injuries, most may heal in a few weeks, but they will be very painful right now. Give him time Mr. Taylor, just give him time." Mac sighed,

"I know its just -" He was cut off as he looked over to the bed where Adam lay, he was awake. "Adam? Adam can you hear me? Do you know who I am?" The questions were asked slowly, to allow Adam time to process them. There was no response. "Adam, please can you remember me?"

Slowly the voices became clearly he could make out a distinct voice he knew, yes, he was sure he knew it. Now if he could only put a name to it…Mac, his boss. What was his boss doing here, maybe he could tell him how he ended up here. Desperately he tried to speak, tried to at least form the word 'Mac' on his lips, but nothing came. A million thought suddenly entered his brain, what if he couldn't talk now, what if something had happened to his mouth, or his voice box. Unable to speak he just looked across to Mac, trying to get him to understand. Mac saw the look on his face, a terrified look. "Adam just slowly nod your head if you know who I am?" Adam gave a short nod, not wanting to give his head more pain. "Doc, he can't speak." The doctor just nodded.

"It is probably due to the concussion, as I said before just give him time." With that he left to talk to a nurse. Mac and Stella both looked at each other, then at the worried boy in front of them.

"I can take over here if you want Stell, I can stay here if you want to get and get some sleep." Stella just shook her head,

"You know I won't sleep with a stalker go killer out there with a thing for Adam! If you want you can here and I'll go back to the lab." She knew he really just wanted to stay with Adam, to keep him safe.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea." With that he moved to the chair beside Adam, he had gone back to sleep. Smiling as she left, Stella headed back to the lab.

"Hey Stella, how's Adam?" Danny had caught up with her as she left the elevator.

"He woke up briefly, but couldn't speak." Danny laughed to try and lighten the mood a little,

"Wow, that's a first, Adam speechless, I've got to see it!" Stella smiled weakly.

"What have you got on the attacker?" Danny's look change dramatically.

"This man is sick Stella. At the apartment there was a picture, it was of Adam, in Mac's office." Stella remembered him saying he had made him sleep there the other day. "If this man can get into this lab undetected who knows what else he can do. He got clumsy though, he left a few prints on the table near where Adam fell. We're running it now, hopefully it should give us something." They both entered the lab where Lindsay was working. "Hey Lindsay." Monroe looked up from the computer she was on.

"Hey. I got a match off the fingerprints you lifted. They belong to a Martin Cooper. This is his mental record, he has spent most of his life in and out of different institutions for one thing or another. Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, BPD _(that's borderline personality disorder!) _the list could go on." She showed the file she had on the computer. Both Stella and Danny looked with worry, this man was over six foot, Adam didn't stand a chance. "Anyway how is Adam?" Lindsay looked hopeful but the look on Stella's face made her scared. "Is he okay?"

"He is still not with it, there might be brain damage." Lindsay just nodded.

"Mac!" Flack had arrived at the hospital, with no idea what was going on. "I just got a call saying you ordered protection to be sent here?" He seemed a little angry. "You've taken my best guys, now I'm all up for protecting people, but six, isn't that little over the top for a hospital. Who has you so worked up?" Then he looked into the room. "Oh I'm sorry Mac. What happened?"

"He was attacked in his apartment. It has something to do with the homicide that happened the other day."

"What you mean Adam knows the killer?"

"Not quite, more like the killer knows Adam." This statement didn't really help him but he knew that Mac had bigger things on his mind.

"How is he?" By now Flack had entered the room and sat on a chair next to Mac.

"He has woken up a couple of time, disorientated, confused, he can't speak." Flack noticed something in the way Mac spoke.

"Mac, what's wrong with you?" Mac looked blankly at Adam.

"It's my fault he is here, he came to me, finally told me something was wrong, and I didn't do anything, I completely forgot to make sure he was safe. If it had been any one else in the team I probably would have kept an eye on them, but Adam blends ito the background, I was so engrossed in work I forgot him." Flack didn't know how to reply, after all he had left him, but he also knew Mac didn't do it on purpose.

"Mac, I don't know why you didn't give him protection, but I know Adam will understand, you still came and got him."

"That's just it, Adam will understand, he will accept, but I don't want him to. I left him, but he won't care, he won't try to blame me, he will probably see it as his own fault. Its not fair, I've messed up and I know Adam will just accept it." Flack didn't really know what to say.

"I'll make sure you get all six of my best guys here in five minutes, keep him safe, he's a good kid, smart!" With that he left. Mac looked back at the kid, he was smart, but would that be enough to keep him out of danger.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay this is rushed and... well I'll leave that up to you. I am back at school next week and have three weeks worth of exams so you may find me not updating as much, I apologise if you liked the story and have to wait, for the rest you are probably happy to not have to read it for awhile! Thanks for everything anyway. I DON'T OWN THE CHARACTERS.

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**Chapter 7**

Danny was looking over the file of Martin Cooper, shaking his head in disgust. He couldn't believe that someone like him was allowed to walk out of a hospital, never to be heard of again, and no one cared. He had tried speaking to a few of the hospitals to see if he could find a current address, but they all just said he walked out, they hadn't seemed to bothered he may have committed murder. He really wanted to go to the hospital, just to see how he was doing, but he knew he was needed here, Mac was with him right now. Returning to the matter at hand he once again tried to find a clue as to how they might find him. "Hey Danny, you get anything?" Stella longed for a break in this case, everyone was getting tired and they needed something to get their spirits back up.

"No sorry Stella, this guy is slippery. He seems to have vanished, only appearing to do damage." Stella noted the sadness in Danny's voice,

"It's okay, we'll find something I know we will." Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder she smiled and pulled up a chair to help.

"Mac." This single word was followed by a lot of coughing and immediately brought Mac awake from his half sleep. At first he didn't realise what was going on until he remembered being at the hospital,

"Adam? Adam, calm down I need to get you a drink, hold on a second." Adam merely nodded through the coughs and soon Mac was back and gently helping Adam drink a little of the water. "Not too much, just a little." Taking back the cup he placed it on the side for later. "How do you feel?" It was the first time Adam had spoken, Mac wanted to make sure he hadn't imagined hearing him. Slowly there was a quite response,

"Stiff… tired…okay." Adam looked worse than 'okay' but Adam didn't really want to push the subject, he was just glad he was talking. "What happened?" Mac looked confused, he had hoped Adam would help him on that front.

"I don't know Adam, I was hoping you might be able to help me. You were at your apartment, you had been in a fight?" Hoping this would help his memory a little. "Can you remember anything after you left work?" This got a puzzled look from Adam,

"I left the office?" Oh dear, Mac was worried about this, "Hang on, yes I left, Stella was kicking me out, told me I had to get some sleep. There was…" Mac waited patiently for him to continue. "There was a man in the apartment, he started talking about the letter he had sent through."

"So this is the same man who has been stalking you for the last six months?" Adam nodded,

"I think so, it must have been him, I remember him from before-" That was something he didn't mean to say, "When I say before I of course mean, well its just that you know, I suppose it could be said… a figure of speech comes to mind, its like this all that-" Mac grinned, Adam was back, he didn't have a clue what the young man was on about.

"Adam slow down before you do more damage to your self, what do you mean before? Has he been in the apartment before?" There was a short nod. Things started to fall into place, the letter that was about someone getting hurt. "Adam did he hurt you before?" At first there was no response then slowly Adam nodded again. Mac looked at him with a little annoyance, how was he suppose to help this kid if he didn't tell him, then he realised what he was doing. "Sorry Adam, I'm not angry with you, I'm annoyed with myself for not seeing it earlier." It was Adam's turn to get angry.

"Boss, its not your fault, really it isn't." What was this Mac was getting comfort from a man lying on a hospital bed.

"It's alright I know, get some rest, I'll stay here." moving a little to get comfortable Adam closed his eye (the other still wouldn't open) and rested his head back against the pillow. Leaning back in his chair Mac looked towards the door to make sure the police were still there, satisfied he turned his attention back to the boy.

"Ha, yes!" Stella jumped at the sudden uproar, looking around she saw in the opposite lab Sheldon obviously overjoyed with something. Danny and Stella exchange glances before deciding to find out what has excited the man. "Ahh, Stella, Danny, I was just about to call you."

"I thought that was what the shouting before was about, you know Hawkes there are easier ways of getting our attention!" Danny replied grinning.

"I think I found out where Martin Cooper may live. I was reading through some of the notes that had been left to Adam and it got me thinking, how is it he always knows what Adam is doing?" Although he phrased as a question he didn't expect an answer. "He must live somewhere where he can see Adam. I pulled up images of Adam's apartment and tried to find which apartments had the best line of sight." At this point the showed them the computer screen and pointed to a window almost directly opposite Adam's window."

"Cooper would want somewhere he could keep an eye on him, that would be the perfect spot, good work Sheldon." Stella patted him on the back.

"I pulled up blueprints of the apartment buildings, it is apartment 9, second floor in the opposite building." He gave over a sheet with the address written on it.

"Thanks, Danny call Flack, tell him to meet us there with a warrant." Danny picked up his phone and dialled Flack as Stella and Sheldon made their way down to the car parking lot.

The place was empty By empty it did not just mean no people, no anything. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Flack looked doubtfully around the room. "It seems deserted." Flack continued to check the other rooms to make sure. "Scratch that, this is definitely the right place. Sheldon and Stella followed the voice to what would be a bedroom. It had a direct line of sight with Adam's apartment, but what was more shocking was the walls. Plastered from top to bottom, each wall was filled with images of Adam. "This guy is obsessed. Which mental hospital did he escape from." Of course Flack asked this with no idea that he had in fact escaped from a mental hospital.

"Many, although he never really escaped, more like walked out." Sheldon gazed around the room.

"You being serious?" Flack eyes opened wide and was replied with a simple nod. The photos were all in different places, some were at his apartment, some from work, some were fro when he was just 'out and about'. The only thing that was the same about all of them was the fact that in all of them Adam was unaware of the camera. "Well I'll leave you to do your 'thing' with the room, I'll go see if I can't get some information from his neighbours." Stella and Sheldon had already started to get their kit out. Flack left with his notebook out.

Back at the lab Danny and Lindsay were processing the evidence from the apartment. There had been some trace which they were hoping would give an insight into where Martin Cooper spent the rest of his time. "One thing I want to know, is how he got into the lab?" Danny was looking at some of the photos. "You see these ones here are from when he was working in the lab, how does he get in without causing a scene?" Lindsay looked across from where she was.

"He would have to have a pass." She looked up at the camera in the corridor. "Maybe we can get more with the cameras if he was in the lab they must have caught something." Danny wished Adam was here, he was the best with the computers, he would get the information so much quicker than it would take them.

"Martin Cooper?" Adam knew the name meant something, but he couldn't remember why. "I know him, well not know him…well I might, but of course its just." Mac and Sheldon both gave him a stern look. "Sorry, I mean I know the name, I just can't remember why." Sheldon had come to relive Mac. Sheldon knew Mac needed to get at least a little bit of a rest and he was more than happy to stay with their lab rat.

"It's okay it'll come to you." Sheldon gave a sympathetic smile and sat down in the chair that Mac had just relinquished. Adam had been able to stay awake for a much greater amount of time, and was starting to return to his usual self.

"I'm going to go and check up on the lab. I'll be back in a bit." With that Mac left.

"I'm sorry I can't help you more, but I know that Martin Cooper means something, I just know it." Sheldon placed an arm on his shoulder, he really didn't want him to get worked out.

"I told you it's fine, we'll work out…together."

_Everything was going wrong, this wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want it to get out of control. What was he suppose to do now? He stood outside he building, it was bustling with life, should he just go in? He just needed to see him, to see him one more time? He watched as the man came out, now was his chance, the protector had left. Reaching into his pocket he took out a tag and clipped it on as he walked into the hospital._


	7. Chapter 7

Hey sorry it has been so long three weeks of exams turned into four weeks of exams and then my other responsibilties at school meant I was so tired when I came in I neglected to update. This one is a little rushed but see waht you think!

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Chapter 8

_Smiling as he walked past the many doctors and nurses, off doing their rounds, he clicked on to a computer. He just wanted to see him one more time, to say hello maybe even talk. Typing in a keyword search he looked up 'Adam Ross, finding his room he scurried off, avoiding eye contact just in case he gave himself away._

"Hey Adam, you're finally awake I see!" Adam squinted as the sudden rush of sunlight hurt his retina.

"Sorry Hawkes, I didn't realise you were here." Sheldon just shook his head,

"Nah nothing to apologise for you needed some sleep!" Adam just smiled, he still felt tired. He looked around the room; he was starting to feel uncomfortable in here and wished he could just go home.

"When can I get out of here?" The question was responded with a stern look.

"Seriously? You have people waiting on you hand and foot, you get to stay in bed and it gives you an excuse for not being at work and you really want to leave? Plus you are still in a bad way… you can barely keep your eyes open talking to me!" It was true Adam was nodding off again, but he really just wanted to be back in his own bed.

"Fine if I stay here one more day will you see what that 'doctor status of yours' can do to get me out?" Admitting he was not going to get a better deal Sheldon just nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to get you something to eat, promise you won't try to get away?" Half was meant at a joke but Adam could sense the worry in his co-worker's voice.

"I promise." With that Hawkes left in the hope of finding some good food. Adam turned on his side to get more comfortable when the door reopened, 'that was fast' he thought to himself. Before he had time to turn though he froze in his spot as he recognised the voice,

"_Hi Darling how are you doing?"_

_The ball was stuck in the tree, he was too short to get it down himself, but he really wanted it back. Sighing he reached up and was just able to grab hold of the bottom branch on the tree, hauling himself up he managed to end up sitting on the branch. Slowly he moved up the tree, getting closer to the ball, it was nearly in his hand, his fingers grasped the end of it, "Hey there what are you doing?" The sudden noise shocked Adam and he lost his balance, luckily he managed to hold on to the branch with his hands, his feet dangling below. Adam was smart and knew there was only so long his arms and hands could hold before finally the muscles would finally tire and then the force of gravity would take over._

"_Uhh... hi…" it was difficult for him to speak whilst in this position. "I was trying to get my ball… you scared me…I'm a little bit stuck!" The boy below who had called up to him reached up and was able to grab a hold of his legs._

"_Just let go I'll be here holding you so you won't get hurt." Adam was still unsure but as he could not see an alternative he closed his eyes and allowed his hands loosen there grip, eventually they were completely free from the branch, but he did not fall. Instead Adam just slid down the boy in front of him so in the end his feet were back planted firmly on the ground. _

"_Thanks for that…I liked that ball, oh well." The other boy just smiled and grabbed a hold of one of the branches which was near where his ball was and started to shake it up and down. Soon the ball was moving too and bounced on the floor as Adam caught it. "Thanks again…sorry but who are you? I haven't seen you around before." _

"_Martin…Martin Cooper. I'm not staying long, just visiting a friend." Adam nodded._

"_Thanks again, I'm Adam, but I better be getting back, I promised I would be home at five." The other boy just smiled and walked off waving to him,_

"_I'll see you around then." Adam waved back and headed over to his house, there was no way he was going to be late, he didn't like the consequence._

"What…Who…How?" Adam was stuck for words, he knew exactly who was there but still did not want to turn around and see him.

"Look at me sweetheart; I won't bite…not unless you make me." Adam shivered at the memory of him.

"How did you get in here? Y…you better leave my friend will be back any minute, if he sees you…" He trailed off as he felt a hand brush the side of his face.

"Shhh, we have a couple of minutes, don't ruin the moment. I just wanted to see you." He continued to stroke his face, moving up to stroke his hair.

"D…don't do that… leave me alone." Adam pushed his hand away and moved further towards the edge of the bed. But this didn't stop him, he just placed his hand back and sat on his bed. His other hand moved up to his leg as he gently started to pat him,

"There, there, calm down its alright, I'm here to help." There was a dark grin on his face. All of this just scared Adam more, he tried tom move further away but found a tight grip on his leg. Nails dug deep into his skin making him want to scream. "Shh not a word I just wanted to see you again, don't block me out." The words were not getting through to Adam, he wanted to be let go, he tried squirming. Slowly he started to lose his breath and was finding it hard to breath, he knew he was hyperventilating but could do nothing to stop it. Soon the heart monitor which was hooked to started to beep madly, realising he may get caught Martin made a move towards the door, leaving the young man in pain. He didn't want to leave him but it was safer than the alternative. Closing the door Adam was left trying to breathe again.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" There was no denying it, Hawkes was angry, He left him for five minutes, he comes back and finds out that Adam had gone into a state of shock. The nurse was trying to explain, with great difficulty, the situation.

"Mr Hawkes, Adam started to hyperventilate and we are unsure why, he was bleeding from his left leg and right now is sleeping. Please keep your voice down as you may wake him." Sheldon did keep his voice down this time as he tried to find out more.

"Why was he bleeding, can I see him?" She nodded.

"Yes you can see him and it looks like he dug his nails into himself, probably when he was having difficulty breathing." Sheldon was still in a bit of doubt as to why, but right now he just wanted to make sure Adam was okay. He walked into the room, seeing him sleeping. Pulling the chair back next to the bed he watched him. Slowly Adam opened an eye,

"Sheldon?" His voice was quiet and hoarse,

"Yes Adam." Hawkes had moved closer to the bed so he could hear him.

"I remember who Martin Cooper is."


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry its been so long, computer dificulties, however here is the next chpater, hope its okay... sorry for any mistakes!**

**DON'T OWN!**

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**Chapter 9**

"_I remember who Martin Cooper is."_

Hawkes sat bolt up at the revelation, something in Adam's voice told him he probably didn't want to know who Martin Cooper was, but knew it was vital to the case. Leaning back into Adam he whispered gently into his ear, "Can you tell me?" Adam nodded but soon started to cough. Realising the young lab tech had not had drink since early the day before he hurried over to the water fountain and poured out a small cup. Tenderly he placed the cup to Adam's lips, making him only take small sips at a time, Adam gestured that he was okay now and so Hawkes removed the cup. "Take it easy, if at any point you want to stop just say so… but even the smallest detail could be significant." Adam nodded and took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to start with.

"It was a long time ago… well not that long ago but longer than when I've been working here… in fact I wasn't working I was just a kid back up in Phoenix-" Sheldon bit his tongue as he tried to stop himself from hurrying Adam up, he hated it when he ranted it became impossible to understand what he was going on about but right now it was important that Adam felt comfortable. "Sorry…" Adam looked sheepish as he caught a look from Hawkes. "As I was saying I was a kid and well…best to start from the beginning. It was a small neighbourhood so I knew all the kids around the place but he was new, he helped me get my ball back… but he said he didn't live there. I didn't really know much about him he would just turn up every now and again when I was out playing, I knew something was odd about him I just couldn't put my finger on it… I think it was the story he told me, about how he was here visiting a friend, a part from the fact that I always saw him alone the story would change a little bit every time I spoke to him." Adam stopped trying to catch his breath again. "Some weird stuff happened in that neighbourhood, a couple of people would go missing here and there, some would turn back up, but most just disappeared from existence, there was a house near the end of this one road which everyone swore was haunted, it was funny because it was alright until this Martin Cooper guy showed up, he was only a kid of course, older than me I was probably about eight and he was more like fifteen, but there was something in the way he spoke, he always had a certain grin when he spoke to me. I got suspicious and started to ask about him to people in the neighbourhood but none of them knew who I was talking about. Then it happened…"

There was a moment of silence, Sheldon wondered if Adam was going to continue, he didn't want to push him. "Sorry… just trying to get all the facts right!" Adam tried a smile, but it was a weak one. "A friend from down the road had gone missing, she was such a lovely girl, I played with her a few times, the last time I had seen her Martin was there, in fact he had been talking to us. I remember the police coming to speak me, I was one of the last people to have seen her, and I told them about Martin. It was time someone knew about him, as I said before no one had seen him apart from me… and the girl of course. Anyway three months went by, there was nothing found out about the girl, then out of no where she turns up, I found her…" He trailed off again as he remembered when he first found her. He was riding his bike, trying to get away from some of the older kids, he ended up down a sort of alley, and there she was sitting in the corner, shivering, cold. "She wouldn't speak about it, didn't say where she had been, just cast it off as nothing, then Martin came back, I hadn't seen him for about three months as well. Since she had returned I had tried to talk to her more, play with her more. Then there was Martin… we were playing in the street one day and he just turned up… it wasn't difficult to realise something was wrong, the girl went silent, grabbed hold of my hand, I suppose she could have just been nervous but… something just clicked in my brain. A girl goes missing for three months and so did Martin Cooper! I made a bad enemy that day… the police could never prove that he had taken the girl or that he had taken the other people who had gone missing but there was always a watchful eye on him when he came round. But I think there is something more important than that… I suppose before now I never really thought about it, but its like, like he was always one step behind…" Hawkes cocked his head confused by the last sentence,

"What do you mean… has he always followed you?" Adam didn't reply straight away,

"…Kind of… Sheldon do you ever turn the corner and then look back because you feel a presence. When you close your curtains at night do you ever think there is someone sitting across the road looking at the shadows that bounce of them? We put it down to being paranoid most of the time… but I don't think I was… he was always just behind, just out of view but sometimes when I think about it he was in the corner of my eye…and come to think about when I was younger it was only really me he spoke to, and actually the only people who ever went missing were people I talked to…I don't know maybe I am just paranoid!" There was a timid laugh as he tried to make light of the situation.

Silence. Both men sat there unsure of how to continue, Hawkes decided it was his turn to speak and break the ice. "No Adam, I don't think you are paranoid. You're right we do feel like there is someone there at times, but in your case there actually is! Get some rest, and try not to cause anymore injury to yourself!" Hawkes was about to leave to ring Mac when he caught the confused look on Adam's face, "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean cause more injury to myself? I haven't caused any injury to myself!"

"What about your leg?"

"That wasn't me!" Realisation finally sunk in and Sheldon shot out of the room, he needed to call Mac…now!

"Taylor… What?... Are you serious?... Yes I know…Alright I'm coming…Call Flack and get a protection detail set up right away." Sometimes he wondered how Adam managed to be so unlucky; it always ended up him being in trouble. Throwing on his jacket he called for a taxi, there was no way he was leaving him alone… again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 10**

"You promised you would get me out of here!"

"I promised to see what I could do! Look it's only one more night, then they have said you can leave, promise!" Adam pouted and glared at Hawkes.

"Fine." He turned to his side, casting an end to the conversation, Sheldon shook his head; sometimes Adam could be so stubborn.

The door shut, Adam waited to see if he cold here anymore movement, no he'd gone. He knew he was being stubborn, but he didn't care, he just wanted to go home, he hated hospitals. Turning back over he reached for his glass which should have been on the table, it was however no there. Odd, he was sure he had left it- a hand was gently pushing the glass into his, he accepted, looking up to see who had managed to sneak in undetected. "Oh, hi." After taking the glass from Mac's hand he placed it back on the table.

"You know you're being unbearable right?" Mac asked with a certain glint in his eye. Adam shrugged his shoulders,

"Bored."

"Well stop moping, it's not going to help, you're acting like a child." Adam grinned at the last statement. "You're right; you always act like a child. Look Sheldon is trying; you have to give him a little bit of help!"

"Bored!" Mac sighed; this was one argument he was not going to win.

"Look, you can get out of here soon _I promise! _Just try not to annoy you're security, I may give them permission to use force! I do need to go and sort some things out; will you behave and not sulk, please?" Adam just grinned. "Fine, just don't sulk." With that he left, that lab tech was going to be the death of him one day, he just knew it!

Mac knew he should have explained the situation there and then, but Adam didn't seem to be too happy with the situation as it was; what was the point in annoying him any more? It was, of course, to do with where Adam would be staying, his place just wasn't safe, it was already decided that he would go with Mac, but his boss wasn't so sure Adam would be happy with the arrangements! Oh well, he was just going to have to live with it! Mac got back to his place, checking the security, making sure everything would be okay for him. He knew he was panicking way too much, everything was sorted. A patrol had been set up outside of the building, and someone was always going to be with Adam inside the flat. He was just worried, worried for Adam. To think of what he must have gone through, alone, it sent a shiver down his spine. Checking his watch he decided he better get back to the hospital and give the good news to Adam!

"N-No seriously, I _am_ just going to the toilet, hone-honestly, look do you want to come with me?"

"What's going on?" Adam was standing arguing with the guard, who was blocking the door into the bathroom. "What are you trying to do Adam?" Adam gave him an astound look,

"M-me? He won't let me go to the toilet, afraid I'm going to try and leave, I'm not stupid!" Mac nodded and the man stepped aside allowing the young lab tech to enter the bathroom, "Thank-you!" Mac shook his head and motioned for the guard to retake his position outside.

"Adam, ermm, I've got something I need to tell you." He waited for a reply but none came, he tried to open the door but it had been locked, "Adam!" A confused young man exited from the adjoined room,

"What's going on?"

"Oh sorry… I thought…" Adam just grinned.

"Like I said, I'm not stupid! Were you saying something?"

"Uh…yeah…look you can leave here in the morning."

"Oh good, I want to get back to mine and sort out a few things…but..." He sensed that Mac had meant to say 'but'.

"But… you're not going to your place." Adam sighed in anger, "Look it's just not safe, we can go and get your stuff and then you'll be coming to mine, just whilst this whole thing gets sorted out…okay?" Stiffly Adam nodded, still unhappy with the situation, but he knew why Mac had done it, he just didn't like it.

Adam looked up at his apartment block, he so wanted to just go in and lock the door, lock out Mac, lock out the world, but he knew he couldn't. Sighing he jumped up the steps to the apartment, and just as quickly regretted the decision as he suddenly felt dizzy. Just before he fell backwards he was met by a steadying arm, "Don't do that again, please?" Adam just nodded to Mac, and more cautiously this time, made it up the rest of the steps into the building. Once he got to his apartment, he noticed the crime scene tape still around the door, ducking below it he entered the apartment, it had been tidied up quite a bit, the broken table had been disposed off, and the blood patch, which had been on the wall was now gone. Mac watched as the young man walked slowly around the room, touching the wall, readjusting a few of the ornaments. "Come on Adam, we need to get to mine." It was just a gentle reminder, just meant to keep his mind on the task,

"Uh, yeah, sorry, ermm…yeah, I'll just get the stuff from my room, back in a minute." He wondered off down the corridor, leaving Mac to look around the rest of the apartment.

Dragging a suitcase from under the bed Adam started to carefully pack some of his clothes, folding them neatly as he placed them into the suitcase. He didn't pack too much; he was hoping he wouldn't be away from the place for too long. It wasn't that he didn't want to go with Mac, it was just he felt uncomfortable, didn't want to become too much of a burden on him, wasn't sure Mac would understand some of his routines. Well he was the one who wanted him to stay with him, so he'll just have to live with it.

"Right, okay, I'm ready." He attempted a smile as he came back into the corridor where Mac was still standing.

"I'll take that." He motioned for the suitcase and was surprised at how light it felt, Adam was obviously trying to make a statement, but he was just going to ignore it. "Okay just one more stop before we go to mine." Adam nodded and followed him back out of his home, and back to the car.

"Where do we need to go?"

"Pharmacist. You _accidentally _left you're medication at the hospital, so I'm going to get some pain meds." Adam frowned, he'd left them there on purpose, he didn't like medication; always afraid he was going to overdose on it, it wasn't because he was an addict or anything, he was just always nervous he would accidentally take too many without thinking, besides he wasn't in pain.

"It's alright, I'll be fine."

"No you won't, stop being stubborn, otherwise we'll go back to the hospital and get the complete set of medication which you are suppose to take, your choice!" Adam frowned, again, he hated working with people who could get the better of him.

"Fine, let's go to the pharmacy!" He grinned sarcastically and then turned to look out of the window, still grumbling to himself. Mac just smiled, this was going to be fun!


End file.
